IBM Blockchain Pulse

In today’s episode, Matt is joined by a multidisciplinary artist, Erin Zhao, who leads the conversation to an area of Blockchain that IBM Blockchain Pulse has yet to delve into.

Joining the conversation, as well, is return guest, Nigel Gopie, Director of Artificial Intelligence Applications and Blockchain Marketing at IBM. In this episode, he helps to tell the story of IBM’s collaboration with Erin and how they’ve managed to rethink the art consumption experience in our COVID-19 era.

Is now the time to adopt blockchain technology for supply chain? In this episode, Matt Hooper welcomes back Rachel Wolfson of Cointelegraph to get her journalistic perspective on why supply chains can benefit from adopting blockchain.

Rachel has been writing about the tech industry for nearly 10 years and has been focusing specifically on blockchain and cryptocurrency for the past two. She is the host of the blockchain podcast, The Crypto Chick, a public speaker, and a journalist.

During the pandemic, we're all yearning for that sense of normalcy. We miss our friends, co-workers, happy hours, and events. We miss that "game day" feeling. There's really nothing like stepping foot on your favorite sport's team home court and hearing the roaring crowd.

Harold Hughes, founder and CEO of Bandwagon, an analytics and identity management company that uses blockchain to help event venues and entertainers create a more personalized fan experience while eliminating ticket fraud.

This episode of IBM Blockchain Pulse marks another first for Matt Hooper! He is welcoming back his first return guest, Maribel Lopez, the founder and Principal Analyst of Lopez Research!

Last time Maribel was on the show, she and Matt dove into blockchain and transformation and discussed whether or not blockchain hype had peaked. Today, they’re shifting gears and taking a look at how companies can get started with blockchain.

This is a first for the podcast, as Matt Hooper has yet to have a leader in the field of education on the show! Rick has dedicated his life to solving problems in the space of education and his current work with the National Student Clearinghouse is no exception. The National Student Clearinghouse’s goal is to “help education go further” and the work they do goes from improving students’ career readiness to understanding student outcomes to much more.

Our latest guest is Chelsey Delaney, Global Design Lead for Blockchain Services at IBM, who brings a unique and personal view to the blockchain discussion. Namely, a design-centric view — it’s in her job title after all!

Coming away from this interview, our host Matt Hooper felt inspired anew about the practical implementations of blockchain technology and particularly about the key distinctions Chelsey has made in her own work.

Maribel Lopez, the founder and principal analyst at Lopez Research, whose job is to help the most ambitious of business leaders. This sort of work requires a collaborative spirit as well as a deep knowledge of the most significant innovations happening every corner of the globe — from AI to IoT to blockchain. Maribel gets to spend her days guiding leaders through these changes and Matt couldn’t be more excited to be interviewing her this episode!

Have you ever met someone who truly loved their job so much that you found yourself grinning ear-to-ear as you listened to them explain how they spend their days? Well, Matt Hooper sure has! His guest today, Bill Stark, is the President of IBM Business Partner Cognition Foundry. The passion with which Bill describes his job in today’s episode will leave you inspired and thinking about the many opportunities emerging technologies are bringing about for startups and society.

While your host, Matt Hooper, has only been passionate about all things decentralization for 5 years, his guest today, Dr. Sean Stein Smith, was an early champion of our blockchain future. Dr. Smith is a Professor at Lehman College, a member of Wall Street Blockchain Alliance’s Advisory Board, a member of Gilded Finance’s Advisory Board, an author at IBM Blockchain, and an award winner of the NJCPA ‘19 Ovation Award. He is a widely quoted expert at the intersection of blockchain, cryptocurrency, and accounting; has worked with dozens of print publications; and has appeared on numerous live TV broadcasts to discuss said topics.

 

In this episode, Matt and Dr. Smith have a blast talking all things regulation, the future of traditional accounting roles, and the ways in which blockchain can upend the crowdfunding industry! They also talk about how the implementation of blockchain in the field of sustainability accounting could open up new revenue streams, some of the current mainstream use cases of blockchain, and how blockchain intersects with GDPR.

 

Key Takeaways:

[:25] About today’s episode.

[1:55] Matt Hooper welcomes Dr. Sean Stein Smith to the podcast!

[2:06] Dr. Sean Stein Smith speaks about his work and how he originally got introduced to blockchain.

[3:34] What drew Dr. Smith to a leadership/teaching position in the space of blockchain and tech?

[6:50] Dr. Smith defines General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

[8:00] How does blockchain intersect with GDPR?

[8:54] Dr. Smith explains the importance of regulation and the need for regulators in the industry.

[11:01] Last year on the IBM Blockchain Pulse Blog, Dr. Smith asked the question, ‘Do the core functionalities of blockchain technology create situations where many of the opportunities ultimately become constrained as regulators catch up?’ Have regulators responded to this question? And if so, how?

[12:21] Dr. Smith highlights some of the mainstream use cases of blockchain.

[12:48] What is sustainability accounting? And how can the implementation of blockchain in this field open up new revenue streams?

[15:00] About Blockchain for Dummies!

[15:43] Dr. Smith paints a positive picture of the automation of traditional accounting roles.

[19:14] Dr. Smith explains some of the ways that blockchain could upend the crowdfunding industry.

[22:52] What is the most convincing pitch or framing Dr. Smith hears for adopting and integrating blockchain solutions into a business?

[25:15] Where to follow-up with Dr. Sean Stein Smith!

 

Sources Mentioned:

IBM Blockchain Pulse Blog

IBM.co/PodcastforDummies — Visit for a free download of Blockchain for Dummies!

 

Follow-up with Our Guest:

Dr. Sean Stein Smith’s LinkedIn

Dr. Sean Stein Smith’s Twitter

 

Looking for More Episodes?

Visit ibm.com/blockchain — and for news and updates, follow @IBMBlockchain on Twitter!

In the 50 years since the moon landing, human beings have yet to go beyond the moon. And, if you would’ve asked our host Matt Hooper a few weeks ago, he would’ve said with a heavy heart that we look poised to stay that way too. 

But, luckily enough for him, he’s gotten the chance to speak with Naeem Altaf, IBM Distinguished Engineer and CTO for Space Tech! The incredible work Naeem is doing shows not only the possibility of commercial space travel — but the arrival of it.